


Everything's Alright

by Warp5Complex_Archivist



Category: Star Trek: Enterprise
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-03-10
Updated: 2006-03-10
Packaged: 2018-08-15 22:14:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8074822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Warp5Complex_Archivist/pseuds/Warp5Complex_Archivist
Summary: Trip makes a confession, as does T'Pol. Postep, 1.11 "Observer Effect." (01/29/2005)





	

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Kylie Lee, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Warp 5 Complex](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Warp_5_Complex), the software of which ceased to be maintained and created a security hazard. To make future maintenance and archive growth easier, I began importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in August 2016. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but I may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Warp 5 Complex collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/Warp5Complex).

  
Author's notes: Spoilers, 4.10 "Daedalus," 4.11 "Observer Effect."  


* * *

Trip sat at a table in the far corner of the Mess Hall, reading over some reports he'd missed while he was out and occasionally taking a sip of coffee. Just as he took his sip of coffee, he started coughing. He swallowed the liquid and set his cup down, bringing his hand up to cover his mouth. Once the coughing fit had abated, he reached out for the cup again and took another sip.

"How are you feeling?"

The voice startled him out of his thoughts and he snapped in the direction of the voice. He found T'Pol standing before him, hands cupped together behind her back, standing erect with an eyebrow raised. Trip swallowed his coffee and smiled slightly as he put the cup down, returning his eyes to the pad.

"Not bad considerin' I was dead a day ago," Trip said wryly.

T'Pol tilted her head slightly downward, noticing his attempt at what humans called mortuary humor.

"Would you mind if I joined you?" T'Pol asked.

Trip looked up. "Not at all," he said motioning toward the chair.

T'Pol slid into the chair gracefully and looked at the table for a moment, Trip doing the same twirling his thumbs around each other.

"I saw Lizzy," he said, causing T'Pol to look up at him. Trip smiled. "I didn't think I'd ever see her again."

T'Pol cautiously placed a reassuring hand on his arm. Trip looked into her eyes and laid his hand on top of hers squeezing it tightly. Suddenly, he looked at the table and chuckled. "Been in this same situation b'fore, haven' we?" he said. He sighed and looked into her eyes. "I never got ta thank ya properly for everything ya did fer me."

He paused before continuing. "I thought about a lot of things when I was in that Decon chamber. Things I wished I'd done...things I wished I'd said."

T'Pol nodded. "It is common for humans to dwell on 'could-have- beens' when they are close to death," she replied.

Trip nodded as well, pressing his tongue against the inside of his cheek. "One of the things they think about most is loved ones," he replied. He paused for a moment, thinking about how he should continue. "You were the first person I thought of, T'Pol."

She looked at him slightly startled and he lifted his gaze to meet hers. "I never got ta tell ya how much I cared for ya. I thought I was gonna die without ya ever knowin'," he continued. "I'm sorry 'bout what I said. I was just bein' bitter."

T'Pol looked away, struggling for the words. "When your illness was in its final stages, I found myself becoming emotional. Though I can now suppress my emotions with less effort, I find it difficult to suppress them for any longer than a few moments before I am warring for control again," she admitted.

Trip looked at her utterly bewildered. "I...I didn't know that you were having that hard of a time," he said. "And I probably didn' make it much easier for ya, givin' ya the cold shoulder an' all."

T'Pol raised her eyebrow at the expression. "I 'understood' your reasons well enough," she replied.

Trip shook his head. "That doesn't make my behavior right," he said. "Ya broke my heart when ya married Koss, darlin'...and when you and he separated, it made me think I'd been given another chance. But then ya told me that you wouldn' have time for us. I told ya I understood, which I promise you wasn' a lie. I just...I want us to be alright." He paused and pulled her hand off of his arm and grabbed her other hand with his free one, squeezing them both tightly and looking into her eyes. "Are we alright, T'Pol?" he asked.

T'Pol looked into his eyes for a moment before freeing one of her hands from his grip and laying it flat against his cheek. "We're more than alright," she replied.

Trip smiled as a couple of tears rolled down his cheeks. He took the hand on his face and brought it to his lips kissing its back. "I'm glad, T'Pol. I'm really glad," he said.

"As am I," she replied, and to Trip's surprise her lips turned up slightly at the corners.

Trip laughed. "Seems ta me you have a good handle on those emotions o' yours," he said.

T'Pol raised an eyebrow. "Indeed? Then it appears that you do not know what it truly is to be Vulcan," she replied.

Trip smiled. "I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually, darlin'," he said.

T'Pol nodded. "You are intelligent. I believe you will be able to comprehend the limits of my species, but you will never experience them for yourself," she replied.

Trip tilted his chin down slightly. "You're right. I won't experience them for myself, but I can help you adjust to your stronger human emotions, T'Pol, so that you won't be fighting so hard for control," he countered.

"And I will teach you how to control yours so that you may evaluate a situation more logically," she replied.

Trip smiled. "You've got yourself a deal, darlin'," he said.

"We are needed on the bridge," T'Pol replied.

Trip nodded. "Yes, I do believe we are," he acknowledged. He picked up the pad and his cup, walking toward the exit with T'Pol behind him. On his way out, he dumped the remains of the coffee out and set the cup next to the resequencer. T'Pol waited patiently for him and he joined her, both headed for the bridge.


End file.
